You’d be forgiven for missing precisely where Stronghurst, Ill., is located on a map. Found roughly 90 miles west of Peoria, and 80 miles south of Iowa City, Iowa, the little town of 800 or so is home to Stronghurst Collision & Refinish, the brainchild of owner/operators Travis and Alicia Pence.
“We always wanted a shop in our hometown,” Travis says.
He grew up in Stronghurst, and after graduating from the collision repair program at a nearby community college in 2008, Pence set his sights on making that dream a reality.
When it snows, he never worries about getting to work; he and Alicia live a block away.
“I don’t have any problems making it,” he laughs.
Nor does he have a great deal of time to spend outside the shop—with two-and-a-half employees and several cars per week to service, the citizens of Stronghurst keep him busy.
“Someday we’ll retire,” he says, “it’s a small county, we’re happy to be here, and I kind of like it that way.”
As the one-stop shop in town for just about every vehicle (as well as antique tractors and safes), Stronghurst Collision & Repair needs reliable tools and intel to maximize their limited size and staff.
And that’s where Direct-Hit Collision comes in.
The Universe of Collision Repair Information at Your Fingertips
Direct-Hit Collision, by Identifix, is a revolutionary digital tool and platform that gives you access to all manufacturers’ collision repair procedures in one place.
“I don’t want to pay for manufacturers’ repair access online,” Pence says, “I want to pay for a single service that has everything in it.”
Direct-Hit Collision (DHC) features powerful comprehensive search technology with an unparalleled amount of OEM procedures for most everything that will ever come through your shop. Featuring multiple-view remove/replace procedures and all the structural repair guides—as well as information on proprietary vehicle coatings and the special tools needed to make the fix—Direct-Hit Collision offers access into all the major manufacturers’ repair procedures in one software.
He cites the particular challenges a small shop faces, especially in a town when his business—and reputation—hang in the balance of the work he and Alicia can do. There are plenty of options up the street, as it were.
With a growing clientele and Direct-Hit Collision at his disposal, Pence is more confident than ever in his staff, his tools, and himself.
Don’t Guess—Know
As vehicles become more complicated, technicians need more specific tools and the correct instructions to make sure they can fix their clients’ vehicles correctly the first time. Pence says Direct-Hit Collision is intuitive, and that’s good.
“I use the Search Bar quite a bit,” he says, “I can usually find what I’m looking for.”
Direct-Hit Collision also includes all of the mechanical repair information as well, including full color wiring diagrams.
“DHC shows the connectors in color, which is extremely useful. It’s pretty easy to use,” Pence says.
Direct-Hit Collision is an all-in-one resource for shops needing collision repair information and that want to decrease their cycle times, more efficiently manage their intake, and increase their bottom lines.
“We’re a small shop and we still do things the right way, follow the procedures,” Pence says.
“We just want to keep doing what we’re doing,” he adds. “We always want more work, and we want to expand. We want you to come in and we want to fix it the right way for you and make you happy; we’re a customer-driven shop. I pretty much know everybody that walks in the door on a first-name basis. It’s important for us to provide a quality service for our community.
“We do everything the right way. We take care of our people.”
Do you take care of yours? Direct-Hit Collision can help you do it one way—the right way—every time.
